Shush-Writing

Hello! This is a different kind of writing for me. It is genreless, although I was definitely influenced by both creative non-fiction and poetry.  Basically, I decided to experiment with something out of my poetry comfort zone, as I thought the experimentation might lead me to new insights about my pain. I do think the experimentation led me to include more rhythm in my piece that I normally do, and I was also pleased with how this piece represents the frustration I often feel about pursuing new, and often ill-defined, remedies. I was trying to represent the barrage of information, opinions, and attempts, I experience. As always, click read more for the whole poem.

Shush

By: Blog Admin

“Shush.”

I cradle my head in my hands, as if my hushed voice could lull the nerves burning in a band around my head.

“You must be doing something wrong,” they say.

 I tiptoe around my migraine, wearing earplugs to shield it from the clanging dishes or blasts of music. Icepacks on my forehead. No preservatives in my diet. Gluten free muffins, spongy and deflated, for breakfast.

“Shush.”

Pain flares.

“This is your body sending you a message,” they say.

 I close my eyes, breathing in and out, trying to separate my migraine’s pulses into Morse code or letters carved from energy, some kind of message I can read. Stretches in the morning. The spice of chamomile tea in the evening. Acupuncture needles riddle my body like quills every other week.

“Shush”

The pain pounds a beat, a soundtrack to my efforts.

“This is my fault, I haven’t tried hard enough,” I think.

 I swallow pills that taste like chalk and coat my throat in dust. I clutch at remedies—magnet necklaces, Botox injections, fish oil capsules, oatmeal baths. A heat pack warms my head. Lavender oil burns my skin.

“Shush,” I plead. My migraine screeches on in a senseless siren.